UWF quarterback battle 'far from over' entering Week 1

Football season is on the horizon. Where will you be when the Argos line it up for a second season at Blue Wahoos Stadium?
Eric J. Wallace / ejwallace@pnj.com

UWF quarterback Grey Jackson (10) passes the ball during the team's first day of practice for the 2017 season at Pen Air Field on Monday, August 7, 2017. The Argos kick off their second season on September 2 at Missouri S&T.(Photo: Jody Link/online@PNJ.com)

The University of West Florida quarterback competition is still ongoing with just a week to go before the Argos’ opening kickoff.

And even though offseason frontrunner Grey Jackson and backup Mike Beaudry held their own in UWF’s final offseason scrimmage on Thursday night, a surge from third-string Kalu Onumah leaves UWF’s starting job up for grabs.

“That’s really what we’ve seen. Both guys bring really good skills to the table,” Shinnick said. “And then Kalu Onumah did some good things as well.

“As we go into this, this thing is far from over at the quarterback spot.”

Jackson was sharp for much of the night, tossing two touchdowns and completing 11-of-14 passes for 100 yards with the white-team offense.

His final drive of the night ended with an interception, however, by sophomore Jacari Footman in the end zone.

Beaudry didn’t throw any passing touchdowns but did lead a scoring drive on the white team’s opening drive, which sophomore running back Chris Schwarz capped with a short touchdown run.

Onumah received several series of work with the blue-team offense and didn’t disappoint: He finished 3-of-3 passing for 52 yards and connected with Troy transfer Hiram Velez for a 46-yard touchdown.

While Jackson felt that he “left a lot of meat on the bone” after his scrimmage performance, he was largely pleased with the way the offense ran in front of the Argo faithful.

“There were a lot of things that came together tonight that we’ve been waiting to see come together,” Jackson said. “They do come together in practice too, but it’s just nice for it to finally come together for an audience to see.”

The perception is that Jackson’s superior mobility may give him the edge come next Saturday, but Shinnick wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Beaudry and even Onumah could receive snaps in a two-quarterback system.

“There’ll be an opportunity for both those guys to play. I don’t think that’s questionable,” Shinnick said. “We’ve always tried to do that. We did it last year with Kaleb (Nobles) and Grey. So we’ve got the same type of opportunity.”